CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Death No. 2

Conspicuous among the grim, worried
satellite leaders who journeyed to Moscow for Stalin's funeral was
Klement Gottwald, 56, President of Czechoslovakia, chairman and
secretary general of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Of all Western
Communists, Gottwald stood closest to new Soviet Boss Malenkov during
the funeral ceremonies; only Chou En-lai of Red China stood closer.
Although, in Moscow's view, Gottwald was merely a tried and trusty
puppet, to the Czechs he was an absolute boss and tyrant. He had in his
hands the government, the party, the army, the police. Four months ago
he had hanged the last of his visible...